Sanitary wrapper for toothbrush-bodies



L. C. DAVIS.

SANITARY WRAPPER FOR TOOTHBRUSH BODIES,

APPLICATION 'FILEVD JULY 9. 1920.

A TTORNE Y.

UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

LAWRENCE c. DAVIS, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

To all whom it may concern:

SANITARY WRAPPER FOB TOOTHBRUSH-BODIES.

Be it'known that I, LAWRENCE C. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Wrappers for Toothbrush-Bodies, of which the following 1 is a specification.

The object of theinvention is to enable the manufacturer of sterilized tooth brush veniently assemble and pack said bodies in such a way as not only to preserve their sterility until the packages are closed and ready fors'hipment, but to enable the user to readily separate one of the bodies from the package and place it in a suitable holder Y blocks.

I without exposure to infection by direct handling.

The toothbrush bodies to whichthe invention specifically relates, are composed of vegetable fibers, such as loofah, within which are inclosed abrasive bast filaments, the bodies being impregnated with a suitable binding dentifrice and compressed into The wrapper is a strip of paper which is preferably impregnated with paraili'n wax, and is long enough to envelop a number of the brush bodies arranged in spaced relation to each other. The brush bodies are, preferably, laid endwise on the strip so that when the wrapper is folded at points intermediate the brush bodies, as it is designed to be, said brush bodies will lie face to face in a compact group.- A suitable paper carton capable of being openedat one end thereof, is provided for each group of the enveloped brush bodies, and from this carton the user mayremove the' individual brush bodies, one by one, as needed, the separation of one of them leaving the adjacent brush body in position to be grasped by the fingers, others being meantime drawn nearer to the mouth of the carton. The wrapper is folded in such a manner as to be easily and partially opened, in order that the individual units of the brush body may be protected from contamination by the fingers as they are inserted in the handle of the brush.-

It is .well established that a tooth brush is a certain source of infection unless it is sterile, and that it should be retained in an aseptic condition until it is actually used.

The drawingaccompanying this specifica- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

Application filed' July 9, 1920. Serial No. 395,005.

tion, illustrates one embodiiiient'of the in ventlon, In this drawing,

F1gure 1 is a perspective view showing partially completed package;

. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the l1ne 33 of Fig.2, 'Fig. 4 is a view showing a closed pack- 'age partially folded, and bodies of the kind which are adapted for a single use with a separable handle, to conroom. The separable portions of the strip 1 envelop compressed and sterile brush bo ies 2, each consisting of a row of bast or other stiff fibers 3, enveloping folds of loofah, and a binding dentifrice such as tooth powder mixed with sugar. The brush bodes' w1ll remain compressed if only the loofah is impregnated with a binder. If, however, it it wetted it swells and loses its density, and it is, therefore, desirable to keep the tooth-brush bodies dry until used. Compression of the brush bodies facilitates packing since they are all reduced to the same dimensions and may be wrapped in strips of the same length and widt The brush bodies are preferably laid endwlse, and are slightly spaced from each other within the strip which, at the intermediate points 5 is sufficiently flexible to allow the 'units2 to be arranged face to face in a compact formation. If these units are folded alternately in opposite directions, the individual brush bodles may be removed from an inclosing carton without disturbing all of the members of the group. Further more, if all were folded in the same direction, the successive units would have to bemade increasingly lar er and the distances between the brush bodies would require am plification. The strip is overlapped, as shown at 6, and is creasedat the points 7 for thepur'poseof facilitating" the folding of theiiidividual units during the packing operation, as well as their removal by the user; The ease with which. this may be accomplished; will be appreciated if; refer to infection during the period of transportation and while on sale, and the invention in one aspect thereof is not confined to the described method of packing. In so far as' I" am aware, 'no one has heretofore produceda package of compressed tooth-brush bodies, or a package of compressed and sterile tooth-brush bodies, or a package containing tooth-brush bodies of block formation. The known types of tooth brushes include separable handles and bodies which are designed to be used once and then thrown away, but these bodies for most part resemble those of the ordinary type of tooth brush, while a few are composed of substances, such as' blotting paper, which may beformed into blocks without resorting to compression. Compression is an important feature of the present invention, the loofah employed in the manufacture of the brush body being a substance which is naturally bulky and yet, as I have ascertained, capable of reduction of volume under pressure and of retaining its compactness if dried under pressure. f again wetted, as at the time of use, loofah assumes substantially its original bulk,-and is then more serviceable for use as the constituent element of a tooth brush.

The carton may be of any usual construction provided it may be opened to admit of withdrawal of the several brush bodies in sequence in the mannervabove described, although it would be possible and advantageous to inclose the group of brush bodies in i i tooth-brush bodies extending from the closed end of said carton toward thecover thereof, the wrapper for the said bodies being creased at points between the brush bodies to admit ofthe flexure thereof and permit one brush body when removed to draw a succeeding brush body with it and thereby leave it in position to be grasped by the fingers when saidcover is open.

2. A carton having a removable cover at one end thereof, and containing a series of compressed tooth-brush bodies arranged in a pile and separably connected to each other at alternate ends, said brush bodies being so laid in the carton as tosuccesSiVeIy'app'ear at the mouth of the carton as the individual brush bodies are drawn out and severed from the grou Signed at Cliicago, State of Illinois, this 29th day of May, 1920.

' LAWRENCE C. DAVIS. 

